Lighting device



June 17, 1941- w. W. WEBSTER 2,245,885

LIGHTING DEVICE Filed March 20, 1939 Fig-6; 14; Kg

Patented June 17, 1941 2,245,885 iLIGH'rING DEVICE" Walter W; WebstenlVIinneapolis, Minn assignor to Door Glow Lite Company,

Minneapolis,

Minn, a' corporation of Minnesota Application March 20, 193'9;-Serial No. 262,904

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a lighting device such as used for an illuminated house numbering de-' vice, illuminated'signs and other similar illuminated devices where it is desirable to have letters' or words conspicuously displayed. It is -difii-- cult and troublesome to locate house numbers at night and it is a great convenience to havea device by means of which the number is illuminated.

It is an object of this invention therefore, to provide a lighting device of simple, inexpensive and eificient form and one that can be'easily-assembled and installed.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a lighting device having a casing at the front of which is a transparent plate bearing certain characters and within which is a lamp and reflector, said casing also having an opening in its bottom through which light is'projected for illuminating the zone immediatelybelow and in front of said casing.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a lighting device comprising a casing with a removable end, a character bearing plate which is slidable from saidcasin'g anda-novel and efficient reflector which isslidable from'said casing and a light transmitting plate which is disposed in the bottom'of said'casing and'slidable therefrom.

It is also'an object of the invention-"to provide a lighting device having a casing witha character-bearing light transmitting plate at the front thereof, anovel and eff cient reflector therein, thereto-for supporting a'lainp and lamp-socket.-

Theseand other objects and advantages-of the invention-Will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing in which likereference characters-refer to similar parts throughout-the several views and in which:

Fig. 1-is a perspective View of the device;

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of the casing used with the front plate removed and the end portions of the casing removed; some parts being shown in different positions in' dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation of the character bearing plate used;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken substantially on line -'i--& of Fig. 5' as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken substantially on 1ine-5-5 of Fig. 4 as indicated by thearrows;

Fig.=6 is a -partial viewsimilar-toFig. lshownonan enlarged scale.

said reflector having means secured slightly along the outer sides of said top,

Referring to the drawing a lighting device is shown comprisinga casing l0.- While this casing might be variously formed, in the embodimentof the invention illustrated it is shown as having a rear wall Illa which is designed an'darranged to be'supported in substantially vertical position.- Said casing has a top wall Hlb illustrated as sloping downwardly andforwardly from rear Wall Illa and said casing has a bottom wall Hic also shown as sloping downwardly and forwardly from rear wall Illa. Top wall- 10b extends downwardly at a greater'angle than does bottomwa-ll me, the bottom-wall making only a slight angle with the horizontal. Topwall Iilb has at its forward portion a downwardly extending flange-10d and bottom wall I00 has at its forward'portion'an upwardly extending flange lfle. Said bottom wall l0c also has formed therein adjacent its forward edge an opening Ill which extends longitudinally of said wall from adjacent the ends thereof, said opening being indicated as substantially rectangular in form. Said bottom wall has at spaced points lugs Hlg struck up therefrom which extend upwardlyand then toward each otherat right angles. Lugs lGg form guiding and retaining means for a light transmitting'pl'ate ll supported by said bottom wall overopening W said plate being slidable endwise of said casing in the guides Illg and being removable at one end-of said casing. Casing I'D has provided therefor end closing members I2 and" IS. Members IZ and I3- each comprise a plate shaped similarly to the end of-casingl 0' and having flanges IZa and 4311 which extend bottom and rear walls-and also slightly along the front sideof the flanges llle and lfid. Said flanges lia'and itd'closely engage the corresponding parts of the casing so-that said end members 12 and I3 are retainedsecurely in place by friction. A plate l4 which'is made-of some light transmitting material such as glass is-provided and this-extends across thefront of casing l0 having-its outer-or front side'in engagement at itstop and bottom with the topand bottom-flanges lild and 108 respectively. Said plate atits lower inner sidealso engages-the vertical portion of the forward lugs my, which lugs form" with'the flangeille' short grooves in which the lower portion of 1 plate l4 may-slide. Plate l4 carries thereon certain characters l'ta. While thesemay be variously formed and positioned, in practiceit'fhasbeen'found that one very 'efiectivemethod is-to have plate It trans lucentand the characters Md" in solid color thereon. The characters I411, of course, may take any desired form. A reflector I is provided and while this might be varied somewhat in form, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated it is shown as formed from a flat plate, the same having a rear central portion I5a extending longitudinally thereof which lies flat against the rear wall I Go. An upper por tion I 5b extends forwardly and upwardly from portion I5a to the top wall I01) and the top portion I5c extends for some distance in flat engagement with the top wall. At its forward end the portion I 50 is provided with a down wardly extending flange I5d which extends substantially parallel to the flange Hid-and engages the rear top portion of plate I4. Plate I4 is thus held securely at its top and bottom and said plate is slidable between flanges Hid and IM so that said plate may easily and quickly.

be removed at one end of casing I 0. Reflector I5 also has a lower downwardly and forwardly extending portion I5e which extends to and engages thevertical side of the rear lugs Iflg. Reflector also preferably has end portions I51 which extend along substantially in engagement with the end members I2 and I3 when the latter are in operative position. Reflector I5 is preferably made of metal and it is somewhat resilient so that when in place it exerts forward pressure against plate I 4 so that the latter is thus held securely and firmly in position. A small bracket I 6 made of a flat piece of metal or other suitable material is secured to portion I5b of reflector I5 by a small headed and nutted bolt II. Bracket I5 has a forwardly extending portion IBa in which is secured a lamp socket I8. Bracket I 6 has a slot at the central portion thereof through which pass conductors I9 secured to the terminal of socket I8. A lamp bulb is disposed in socket I8 and this bulb preferably has a translucent or opaque portion 2011 at its forward side. It will be noted that the axis of lamp bulb 20 and socket I8 extends longitudinally of the casing and forwardly at an angle of approximately degrees with the plane of the reflector or of the rear wall I to. The conductors I9 extend upwardly in casing I0 and through an insulating bushing 2| secured in the top wall Illb at the rear thereof, said conductors being enclosed in the usual electric cord 22. The cord 22 preferably has a rubber or other moistureproof or weatherproof covering thereon. Said cord will be provided with the usual electric plug in some cases and in other cases will extend to suitable contacts or switch. The end members I2 and I3 have lugs I2b and I3b extending therefrom substantially in the plane of or slightly rearwardly of the plane of rear wall Ilia. Lugs IZb and I32) are apertured to receive screws 24 by means of which the device is secured in position. The reflector I5a can be slidably removed from the casing I0 when one of the end members is removed as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. Considerable slack is provided for the conductors I9 in the rear of said reflector so that said reflector and the lamp and socket carried thereby can readily be removed.

In operation, when the device is to be used as a house numbering device it will be placed above the door or other suitable location. It will be noted that the front portion is at an angle so that the numbers can be more easily read by a person standing somewhat below the device. When the device is positioned above a door the light from the lamp 20 shines through the plate II and illuminates the zone below and somewhat in front of the device. This is a great advantage, particularly when the light is cast upon steps. It will be readily seen that due to the novel construction the parts of the device can be easily and inexpensively formed. The casing, the end members and the reflector can be bent up with simple operations. As above stated, the parts are very readily separated or removed, members I I, I 4 and I5 being easily slidable at one end of the casing. The device will be suitably coated to withstand the weather and due to the bushing 3I' and cord 22, both of which are waterproof, the inside of the casing is maintained in dry and clean condition. The reflector is so formed that the light is effectively and efliciently reflected at the interior of casing I0 so that plate I4 is effectively illuminated. When facilities are present for using the plug on cord 22 the device forms an attachment or detachable device which can be almost instantly placed in operative position.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided an extremely simple and efficient lighting device and one that will have many applications. The structure described is suitable for various kinds of illuminated signs and these may be made with single or oppositely arranged illuminated sides or faces. The structure is also very suitable, as stated, for a house numbering device. The device has been amply demonstrated in actual practice, found to be very successful and efficient and is being commercially made.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts, Without departing from the scope of applicants invention, which generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A lighting device comprising a casing having top and bottom and rear walls and top and bottom flanges extending downwardly and upwardly respectively from the forward edges of said top and bottom walls, said casing having an opening extending longitudinally of said bottom side adjacent the front thereof, guide members for slidably receiving a light transmitting plate disposed over said opening, a reflector in said casing having a flange adjacent said top flange, a transparent character-plate slidable between said top flange and said flange on said reflector and also disposed in the rear of said bottom flange, an illuminating means in said casing and characters on one side of and alined with said second mentioned plate in such manher that they are illuminated by said illuminating means and are visible from the front of said device.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, said reflector having a flat portion lying flat against said rear wall, an upper forwardly sloping portion and a lower forwardly sloping portion extending to the bottom of said casing adjacent said light transmitting plate, said illuminating means being carried on said upper forwardly sloping portion.

3. A lighting device comprising a casing having a top, bottom and rear wall, a transparent plate at the front of said casing, said casing having an opening extending longitudinally thereof in said bottom wall adjacent said plate, a light transmitting plate disposed over said opening, an illuminating means in said casing, characters on one side of and. alined with said first mentioned plate in such manner that they are visible from the front of said device when said illuminating means transmits light through said first mentioned plate and a reflector having an upper portion extending along and. in contact plate.

WALTER W. WEBSTER. 

